Property from a Private Collection
Gaetano Gandolfi
God the Father
Auction is live
Waiting for auctioneer to open lot
Estimate
30,000 - 40,000 GBP
Bid
22,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from a Private Collection
Gaetano Gandolfi
Bologna 1734–1802
God the Father
oil on canvas, unlined
unframed: 37.4 x 41 cm.; 14¾ x 16⅛ in.
framed: 50.4 x 50 cm.; 19⅞ x 19¾ in.
Preserved in excellent, unlined condition, this recently rediscovered bozzetto displays all the hallmarks of Gaetano Gandolfi’s mature style: dynamic, fluid brushstrokes, beautifully worked impasto, and bright colouring. It is a study for the fresco of the same subject on the ceiling of the refectory in the convent of San Salvatore, Bologna.1 The fresco was unveiled in April 1776 as part of the refectory’s redecoration programme, which also included Gandolfi’s monumental masterpiece The Marriage at Cana (signed and dated 1775; Pinacoteca Nazionale, Bologna).2
1 D. Biagi Maino, Gaetano Gandolfi, Turin 1995, p. 371, no. 102, reproduced in colour pl. LXIX.
2 Inv. no. 1468; oil on canvas, 530 x 679 cm.; https://www.pinacotecabologna.beniculturali.it/it/content_page/item/175-nozze-di-cana
